A few months ago, you wouldn't exactly call it Democrat Bev Perdue's crowd: Charlotte's business leaders all gathered this afternoon at the Charlotte Chamber.Among them was Perdue's erstwhile opponent, Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who surely got the majority of votes from this hometown crowd.
But Perdue, who announced a handful of job training and economic development initiatives, appears to be building bridges in the city. She narrowly carried Mecklenburg County, but largely on the strength of the Barack Obama vote.
Her remarks today capped visits earlier in the day to the big banks and an unemployment office. Last month she was here to announce the move of GMAC's headquarters to Charlotte and open a regional governor's office -- the city's first.
"We've seen a lot of her in the first three months," said Chamber President Bob Morgan. "It's very reminiscent of Gov. (Jim) Hunt, who was very present here. She obviously has even taken it another level with the physical presence of her office, with the regular outreach she and her staff are making to Charlotte."
Even McCrory, who shared what appeared to be a warm greeting with the governor, offered a kind of compliment.
"In comparison with the last administration," he said, "the experience has been a very positive sign."
Perdue's predecessor, Democrat Mike Easley, was rarely seen in the Queen City.
9 comments:
Another lef leaning article from the Observer. If Perdue were Republican, the Observer would fire the author of this puff piece
The paper is correct to point this out. Easley was never here and would not even meet with businesses that wanted to move to the area. Perdue and Transportation Sec. Gene Conti should be commended for the number of times they have already been to Charlotte. This is not Rep. vs Dem. just the facts.
Why does the media continue to make a circus of the governor being here in Charlotte? Sure Easley was never here, but this lady now has an office here in Charlotte, as promised in her campaign. We don't see front page news when other people show up for work, so just stop! Surely the News & Observer doesn't make blogs and front page news when the governor shows up at her office in Raleigh?
Perdue has been nothing but a liar to the citizens of Charlotte. First on the completion of I-485 and lately on the addition of jobs in Charlotte. She is proving to be a complete liar!!
This is a good developing political and governmental relationship between the Governor's Office and Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Also a tip of the hat to Mayor Pat McCrory for keeping the city's doors open to the office of his former gubernatorial opponent as McCrory continues to apply his energies and abilities to the improvement of life for Charlotteans and all North Carolinians.
There is a natural alliance between Charlotte and the coast which may come into play in this era once again just as then-Congressman Jim Martin made major headway in his 1984 campaign for governor by pledging to work for the completion of Interstate 40 through Eastern North Crolina to Wilmington. Also, former Mayor and U.S. senatorial candidate Harvey Gantt struck a responsive chord in his appeals for regional cooperation between the Piedmont and the coast on a range of issues from transportation to education.
The catcalls of certain of The Observer's blogging boobirds notwithstanding, Gov. Beverly Perdue's stated serious interest in improving Capital City outreach to and communications with Charlotte and Mecklenburg County certainly bodes well for citizens, businesses and educational institutions across the Old North State in coming years.
Interesting that you mention nothing about Perdue not making a simple phone call when requested by Carbon Motors. A company that is looking to bring 10,000 jobs to the area. But when the CEO didn't get any response from Perdue, they removed North Carolina from the running. And when Perdue was asked about it this week, she said she'd never heard of Carbon Motors.
Warning to business leaders! Ms. Purdue is still a Democrat. When she gets in a bind (and she will), she'll choose the populist (anti-business) option without flinching. Democrats always end up opting for the easy way to tighten their grip on power, and it inevitably turns to vilifying business interests. Remember folks, there is a constant (and healthy) tension that exists between government and big business. When that balance is tilted overwhelmingly toward one (as it is to government now), it becomes the bully (i.e. tyrant). Ms. Purdue, you can build bridges, but the state's business leaders would be wise to vote against you.
This was completely irrelevant to the story about Perdue coming to Charlotte to meet with business owners: "Among them was Perdue's erstwhile opponent, Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who surely got the majority of votes from this hometown crowd. But Perdue, who announced a handful of job training and economic development initiatives, appears to be building bridges in the city. She narrowly carried Mecklenburg County, but largely on the strength of the Barack Obama vote."
If McCrory attended it is all well and good to mention it. But this commentary is neither relevant nor appropriate. Morrill is a veteran journlist and should know better than to run off on such a tagent, nevermind STATE AS FACT his opinion of why the race was won or lost. If his OPINION is accurate, of why she won it is still not relevant to the story.
Jim Morrill's background information about the presence of Mayor Pat McCrory during Gov. Beverly Perdue's visit was indeed quite relevant to the general issues touched on by this news event and by The Observer's reporting of it. It is germane that the governor's race did not simply conclude in a closed-door stalemate between the offices of mayor of Charlotte and governor of North Carolina.
Good newspapers are expected to fill in the contours of important news stories, and this is exactly what Morrill was doing as a political reporter informing Observer readers about the larger dimensions of the news story emanating from the governor's business-oriented visit.
Whether some readers want it or not, good reporting is not going to stop at the corner table with the agendas of meetings neatly printed out but rather will explore the ramifications and implications of the interaction of important individuals and organizations involved with the leadership of the initiatives of interest to the press and the public.
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